QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Detroit’s comeback is underway.” Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, after Detroit released its latest plan to reduce its debt and exit bankruptcy, a proposal that immediately was criticized by unions and bond insurers Article, 1A3 of 4 slain were tribal kin of suspect
ALTURAS, Calif. - A former tribal leader killed her brother, nephew, niece and a worker at the headquarters of a small Indian tribe that was evicting the suspect and her son from its land in Northern California, police said on Friday.
Cherie Lash Rhoades, former chairman of the Cedarville Rancheria tribe, critically wounded two other people on Thursday during a meeting in Alturas about the eviction, police said.
Those killed included the suspect’s brother, Rurik Davis, 50; her niece, Angel Penn, 19; and her nephew, Glenn Calonicco, 30, Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter said.
The other person killed was Shelia Lynn Russo, 47, a tribal administrator who managed evictions and the mother of two teenagers, said her mother, Linda Stubblefield of Taft.
One of the people wounded was alert and talking. The other remained in critical condition, Alturas Police Chief Ken Barnes said.
Barnes said young children were inside the building and on the property when the shooting occurred. After running out of bullets, police said, Rhoades grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed a woman.
School says 3 mum about noose on statue
OXFORD, Miss. - The University of Mississippi said Friday that authorities were seeking interviews with three white students as part of their investigation into the desecration this week of a statue of James Meredith, the first black student to enroll at the university.
In a statement released Friday, the university said three 19-year-old freshmen from Georgia were refusing to speak with investigators about the Sunday-morning episode, in which a noose was placed around the statue’s bronze neck. A flag with the Confederate battle emblem was left at the statue, which is on the campus.
The university said two of the students, who were not identified because of an educational privacy law, had agreed to meet with investigators Thursday, before skipping the session. The university later learned that those students and one other freshman had retained lawyers, who said they would not allow the men to be questioned without arrest warrants.
Danny Blanton, a university spokesman, said Friday that law enforcement officials were considering criminal charges against the students, but he said he did not know when a decision would be made.
Won’t get water, U.S. tells California farms
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Farmers in California’s Central Valley, the world’s most productive agricultural region, will get none of the water they requested this year from a federally controlled system because of the drought gripping the state, the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation said Friday.
The bureau said in a statement it won’t be able to deliver any of the more than 2.4 million acre-feet of water sought by farmers. A state-controlled system last month said it, too, wouldn’t be able to deliver any of the 4 million acre-feet of water sought by local agencies. An acre-foot is the volume needed to cover an acre of land 1 foot deep with water.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for the world’s 10th-largest economy last month after 2013 turned into the driest year on record, leaving reservoirs at dangerously low levels. The dwindling availability of water means farmers will fallow hundreds of thousands of acres, boosting food prices across the U.S. and leaving farm workers jobless. The state has identified 10 rural towns with less than 100 days of supply remaining.
NYC mayor questioned about SUV video
NEW YORK - Mayor Bill de Blasio faced more questions Friday about why his official vehicles were videotaped breaking traffic laws only two days after he rolled out a sweeping traffic-safety plan.
De Blasio deferred to the New York Police Department when met by reporters Friday morning on his way to the gym. The mayor’s cars are typically driven by members of his security detail, made up of New York Police Department detectives.
Referring to his traffic-safety plan, the mayor added: “We’re very serious about ‘Vision Zero.’ … We’re going to keep moving forward with it.”
After his weekly meeting with the mayor on Friday, Police Commissioner William Bratton downplayed the video, saying that the drivers have special training to make decisions based on security needs and won’t face any questioning.
“I’m not overly concerned by what I saw,” Bratton said.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/22/2014